


The Last Breath Bent

by Plums



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-02
Updated: 2012-05-02
Packaged: 2017-11-04 16:52:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/396059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plums/pseuds/Plums
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After years of building up Republic City, Avatar Aang, under the escort of Police Chief Toph Bei Fong, returns to his wife, Katara, and son Tenzin in the Southern Water Tribe. But will this be his final return?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Breath Bent

**Author's Note:**

> Ohey, first fic here. :L
> 
> Anyway, this is a bridge fic between A:TLA and LOK. The characters are a bit out of character at times, and I rushed through the ending. Using this for school, as well as posted on Tumblr and a forum I frequently visit, so any feedback would be totes awesome. Hope you enjoy!

Death surfs in the breeze. He can feel it gather along the nerves on his tongue, keys on a piano. It plays a measured requiem, each press of the key deeper and tighter than the last. It squeezes through every pore, the sounds of death fading into the unassuming rivers of blood. The notes flow along, spreading themselves thin throughout his body. He can feel it reverberate in his hands, his feet; the death sound no longer wades around him. His voice is now but the death rattle.  
A gust of wind whips along his cheek. He shakes his head, glancing to his right.

The abyss of sky simmers around him like vegetable soup. Clouds of cauliflower hover beside him. He turns forward once more, his bony hands rubbing along the armrest of the seat. He is riding in a blimp back home. Normally he would forgo such formalities, and simply travel on the back of the back of his bison, as he used to in his younger days. Yet, as he grows older, the past simply becomes practice for recalling the essential facts of the present. His eyes wander around the command room. Soldiers in metal clad uniforms sit beside him, most of their eyes closed. His gaze falls upon one of the soldiers closer to him, an elderly woman. Wrinkles claw their way up her face, the skin around them as loose as her seat belt. The woman smiles, causing him to jump a bit in his seat.

“You still awake, Twinketoes?” She turns towards him, her youthful eyes juxtaposing her aging body.

“Yes, well, you see,” he chuckles, coughing a bit in between breaths.

“Don’t even try and dance around this one. You need your rest, unless you want to go from ‘Twinkletoes’ to ‘Wheelchair’,” she says, folding her legs. With a stretch (and a crick in her joints), the woman begins to scratch her right foot, a white prune against her armor. He smiles, resting his back against the seat. With a sigh, he shuts his eyes, the metal ship beginning to slip from his awareness.

“Hey?”

“Yeah? I’m listening,” the woman said, her fingernails caked with a layer of dirt.

“Thanks, Toph. For everything.” The woman is silent for a moment, the sound of her scratching fading away to nothing.

“Yeah, well, that’s still Master Toph to you. Just because I’m a little pruned up doesn’t mean I still can’t kick your butt, Aang.” Toph laughs, returning to the netherlands of grime on her foot. Aang manages a smile.

“Do you know how long it’ll take before we get there?”

“Keep your dress on, Twinkletoes. We’re landing in the Southern Water Tribe in another hour or two. I'm sure Katara will be happy to see you. I think Junior Twinkletoes is in town too, so it'll be a big family reunion."

"Right, a family reunion..." Before Toph could inquire any further, snores begin to pour from Aang's mouth, the man diving into the realm of dreams, and further into the bowels of death.

 

He wakes to the sound of ice collapsing. Aang opens his eyes. Toph is asleep before him, her mushroom hair resting back over the head of her seat. A small puddle of drool gathers at the bottom of the seat. Mountains of ice rise and fall beside the ship, the gleam of sunlight off the ship bouncing off the liquid mounds. With a grunt, Aang rises from his seat, resting his right hand against his chest. In the distance, he could see a sizeable igloo tower, the swirled logo of the Water Tribe resting in the center.

"We're finally here...," he says, his eyes wavering over the void of blue and white across the horizon. "Better wake Toph up, then." As he begins to move towards the sleeping woman, a voice booms from the within the frames of the blimp.

"Captain Beifong!" Toph arises with a start, her feet smashing through the floor.

"What happened?!"

"We are arriving in the Southern Water Tribe within a few minutes, sir!"

"Very well, proceed en route to course! And Lieutenant..."

"Yes, sir?"

"The next time you wake me up like that, this floor's gonna be your head. Got it?"

"...Yes, sir. Apologies sir!" The voice clicks off. Toph's gaze travels to Aang.

"It's so hard to find good help nowadays. Gotta wonder how you managed back then, Twinkletoes."

“You can say I’ve always had something up my sleeve,” Aang says, tugging at the cuff of his right sleeve. With the grace of water, six marbles whip out of his sleeve, flying into the palm of his hand. He perches his left hand over them, the marbles spinning in a perfect circle. He smiles at Toph, her wrinkles sinking even further into her face.

"Sometimes, I wonder if that iceberg kept more than just your 12 year old body." The woman smirks as he puts the marbles back in their place.

"Anyway, we're about to drop off here. You ready for this?"

"I was born ready." Toph nods, pressing her foot into the floor. Chunks of metal burst from the seams, flying down into the endless blue below. The elderly pair stand at the ready, waiting for even the smallest sliver of white frost to appear beneath them. It catches his eye first, the small patch of snow expanding outward. With a nod towards the other, the pair leap into the air, their clothes flying at their sides. Aang takes a deep breath. When his eyes begin to water, he releases it down to the ground. A flurry of air hits the snow, separating the flakes from the scalp of the earth. Aang descends slowly, his attention training itself on the woman above him. She is flipping through the air as though a Frisbee. Knocking her fists together, Toph pushes her arms out. Metal cords lunge for the ground, prodding themselves into the dirt.

"Say Toph, why haven't you taught me Metalbending?"

"Avatars get a whole bunch of perks already. I like keeping this one for myself." The pair laugh as they land, their legs cracking as their feet kiss the ground. Toph shivers, her hands dashing towards her feet.

"I can't believe I forgot! You two just had to choose to keep living out in the tundra!" Aang smirks as Toph raises her arms into the air. Mud swims around her feet, compressing into itself until it hardens completely.

"I guess this'll have to do. You both know I hate wearing shoes."

"We've got a few bearskins on the floor back in our tent. You should be able to warm up there."

"You better, Twinkletoes, or I'm about to give you lead feet instead." Toph glares, causing the man to laugh. They have not been this casual with each other in a long time. Most of the time, their conversations simply revolve around protection for the city -- his city. After negotiating with Zuko about the colonies, Aang, in a burst of "spiritual mumbo jumbo" (as Sokka always called it), had a vision in which all the people of all the nations -- benders and even non-benders, could thrive as one. Its name: Republic City. It is designed to be a melting pot of all four nations, to unite each and every person together and bring about a new, more equal balance to the world.

Alas, as with all great cities, trouble soon brews. Exploitation of bender "elites", a rigorous caste system in which non-benders would be subject to crime -- and all of it under his own rule, the Avatar's guiding presence. If he cannot keep the balance of a single city, how can he maintain the balance of the world? He was lost, is lost, and may forever remain lost. The advisory attempts to cheer him up, to get him to remember the old times when everything was just starting out. But he needn't relive the past. It already lies within him, trapped with each old wrinkle, born with each new stress to his life. He wants to escape it all and return to a meeker life, a more peaceful end. He wants to be able to see his wife for once, instead of trying to give her life through the monthly letters back and forth across the globe:

 

" _Oh, honey, you should have been here! Tenzin really opened up today. Granted, our eldest son had to stuff seaworms into his tea... Sometimes, I do wonder if Bumi is the actual reincarnation of Bumi. It makes me wonder if we're all born again in some way, if destiny really does have plans for each and every one of us. Since you're the Avatar, you can recall it at anytime. But I wonder, what was I in a past life? What was Sokka? Zuko? Toph? Suki? Haha, what sort of boarcupine was Azula in a past life? Sorry, sorry, rambling again. Anyway, I wish I could just see you again, honey. It’s been tough over there, I know, but I also know that you know that a break could never do anyone any harm. In any case, I love you, hon. Keep the balance._

 _Love, Katara._ ”

 

He remembers awakening one day to perform his daily city maintenance, only to be pushed away by his advisors. They brought him forward to Toph, requesting that he "go see his wife", "get some rest", and to "be a family man". And so it goes.

Toph whistles, breaking the man's concentration. Aang looks over to the woman, her finger pointing out in the distance. Squinting, Aang could see smoke billow into the air.

"We're here!" Aang springs forward, dashing toward the village, almost if he were young again. Toph, moving her feet against the ground, propels herself into the air, jumping over the dashing boy. She lands next to the fire, her back cracking in the process. As she rubs her vertebrate, children swarm around her, her blue eyes hovering over her metal clad armor.

"Wow! A real Metalbender!"

"Ooh, ooh, can you bend metal for us pleaaaaase?"

"Make me a sword and swing it!" Toph raises her free hand in front of her, slowly retreating from the cluster of kids.

"Hey, hey, easy now! I'm not as young as I used to be!" The kids begin to pull at her arms as Aang approaches. He smiles towards the woman, her body rocking back and forth with each pull from the children.

"Ka-Katara's o-o-over the-re-re," Toph points to the igloo in the west. Nodding, Aang ambles towards the igloo. All around him, the villagers stand still, his presence perplexing them. In the corner of his eye, he can see a married couple stumbling outside of their tent. The woman is pregnant, her husband’s hand laced atop her stomach. He is only an inch from the door when it opens. Arms wrap around his waist as he feels familiar hair loopies probe his skin.

"You've come back."

"Katara..." Aang wraps his arms around her, her face burying itself into his chest. He wants to remain like this, to be stuck in her arms and her in his arms, two bodies closing in onto each other, consuming the other whole like an Ouroboros. He is lost in the seashell smell of her hair when the door opens again. A young male, somewhere in his thirtes, exits the igloo, his orange and yellow robes similar to Aang's own.

"Father?"

"Tenzin, my boy," Aang says, beckoning his son over. With a sigh, Tenzin gives Aang a hug, the former's small, brown beard piercing into the latter's skin. "How have you two been? Tenzin, you've grown since I've last seen you!"

"Father, I believe Mother has done enough as far as expressions go in terms of my growth."

"Oh, but Tenzin! Look at you! Putting on the pounds for your new girlfriend."

"Don't bring Pema into this! She is simply a colleague, nothing more," Tenzin raises his head to the sky, his right hand stroking his beard.

"Pema? Planning on reviving the Air Nomads, Tenz?" Aang and Katara laugh, the blush on Tenzin's face turning a deeper scarlet.

"In any case honey, dinner’s almost ready. Why don’t you come in and take a seat before it’s done?"

"No matter, honey! I’m fine. I am the Avatar after all,” Aang says, his eyes falling over to Tenzin. “As for you, son, would you like to spar with your old man really quick?” Tenzin’s eyes lit up.

“Yes! I mean, uh, are you sure, Father?”

“I’m completely sure. I’ve been away quite some time, so how about we have a quick Airbending spar really quick? Mano e mano, father and son?” Aang raises his fists playfully, Tenzin smirking at the sight.

“Very well, I suppose. But don’t you, er, think you’re a bit too...o--” A gust of air snaps Tenzin in the chest, propelling his body backwards. With a grunt, Tenzin spins around, a breeze whipping him back to his feet.

“I’ve still got a little spring in my step,” Aang says, running forward. Tenzin opens his arms, moving around in a circle. Wind begins to pick up around him, his figure slowly disappearing into a large tornado. Aang stops charging, raising his arm to shield his eyes. He can hear Katara say something behind him, but her voice is deafened by their son’s tornado. Tenzin jumps from the tornado, pushing his arm out. The tornado behind him collapses, the gusts of wind charging at Aang. He sees a flash of white light, stars exploding in his eyes.

“Aang!”

“Father!” The voices are above him. He tries to lift his arms, yet can feel nothing in them. His fingers, his toes, his chest; none of it feels like it is there. Even his vision is nulled, his eyes only making out darkened silhouettes of his family above him.

“Tenzin, get him to the Hospital Ward, now!” He can feel the faint touch of a hand upon his head, his mind drifting off to sleep.

“Stay with me, Aang. Please...”

 

He awakens to the sound of footsteps. Aang opens his eyes, the clear sky that was above him now melted down to a darkened tent. He leans forward, clutching his chest. Pain flares through every limb of his body, tearing apart his veins to make their own. He falls back onto his pillow gasping, sweat pooling on his brow.

“Did anyone hear that?”

“I think he’s awake! Katara! Tenzin!” Katara runs through the door, lunging for his hand. She squeezes, her tears raining down on his thin, frail chest. Tenzin enters next, remaining by the door with his back turned. His face is red, his shoulders buckling in synch with each of his mother’s tears.

“Aang, you...”

“I know, sweetie. I...I’ve known.”

“But how? It just happened!”

“It’s not Tenzin’s fault. I’ve taken far worse in my lifetime for this to be because of that. But I think you know about it too. At least, far longer than I have.” He stares at her, her eyes red from her tears.

“...Whenever I healed you...I could sense it. It was different than how it felt with anybody else I was healing. At first i thought it was just an Airbender thing, but when Tenzin was a baby and I healed his wrist after the penguin sledding accident, I...”

“It’s because of the iceberg, isn’t it?” Katara nods.

“It’s lung cancer. The waters you were frozen in when Sokka and I first found you are known for being filled with nickel. That’s why we weren’t able to catch any fish that day. I didn’t want to believe it, but I just...didn’t want to!” She begins to cry harder, the tears falling faster than Tenzin can shake. Aang squeezes her hand, bringing it up to his face.

“I know you don’t want me to die. After what happened to Sokka a few years ago during that demonstration in the city, I didn’t want anyone to die. I didn’t even want myself to die. I wanted to stay with you, with Tenzin, with Kya and Bumi, forever. But...death isn’t forever for the Avatar, for any of us. Katara...I will be back again. It won’t be the same me, but it will be me.” Aang kisses her hand. They smile at one another, their eyes shedding away the wrinkles one by one, searching for the first smile they shared.

“Mother, Mother! Pregnant woman!” Tenzin is jumping up and down. A man is pulling a woman through the door. Aang recognizes them as the pregnant couple as Katara begins to speak to the woman.

“Senna, Senna, easy now...”

“How can I be easy when I have a baby about to pop out all over the ice! And Tonraq over here can’t even find the stinkin’ tent on time!” Tenzin and Katara look at the man.

“What? The Southern Water Tribe’s a big place!” Katara ushers Senna to the bed next to Aang, telling her to calm down and breathe easy. Tonraq places his hand on Tenzin’s shoulder.

“Is this what it was like when you first got married?”

“I have yet to have a marriage. Although I pray to the spirits that birthing practices will go over simply...” The pair share a laugh, spurring aang to smile. He looks over to Senna and Katara, the woman’s legs spread.

“Easy now. Just breathe and push, child.” Senna is screaming, her voice booming over each fabric fiber of the tent. Tonraq runs forward, taking his wife’s hand into his own. Katara pulls her sleeves up, reaching between the woman’s legs. Pain begins to swell eeper in Aang’s chest. He is screaming now, hands grasping for his chest.

“Mother!”

“Tenzin, I know! Just...there!” Katara dashes to her husband, the recently born child screaming in her arms. She places the child in Tenzin’s arms, reaching for her necklace. Water pours from the core, spreading across her hands. As she puts her hands over his chest, Aang grabs her shoulder, shaking his head. Katara nods, tears welling up in her eyes again. Tenzin looks down, the baby in his arms pouting and crying from lack of attention. Aang looks to the child, and the child looks to him. Their eyes meet, gray and blue staring into each other for infinity.

The child stops crying, becoming mesmerized by his face. He feels like he knows the child. In his mind, he can see images of a girl riding on the back of a large white dog, of her standing on the edge of Republic City, and of her hugging an even older Katara. With the last reaches of his life, Aang reaches for the child, his fingers shaking as draw closer. The child takes them into her hands, maintaining eye contact with the man.

As the world fades away before him, he mutters one word with the last of his breath.

“Korra.”


End file.
